


Bloody Fists and Back Alley Kisses

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Drinking, Drunkenness, F/M, all characters are of age, implied nagisa/jataro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7784005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Masaru needs some air when going out with his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bloody Fists and Back Alley Kisses

She watch him as he leaves their table, and she knows  _ why  _ he does it but the need to reaffirm is what drives her to get up and follow him. She knows it probably looks suspicious, even slightly rude that the two of them are leaving without saying anything, but no one was paying attention anyways. Jataro seemed fairly engrossed in the strange lighting- fueling his obsession with light painting- and Nagisa’s attention is solely on the blond. They’ll be fine if she slips out after Masaru, no one will notice. And no one stops her as she leaves the booth and trails behind the redhead to a nearby exit.

 

As her hand lands on the door, Kotoko hesitates. Masaru ran off to be alone, would he really want her to follow him? She decides that of course he’d want her there, she needs to help him if something’s wrong. But she still hesitates as she throws open the door.

 

Outside, Masaru is leaning his forehead against the wall. She’s about to step forward, say something, even a simple  _ Hey, are you okay? _ but she doesn’t get the chance. In a second he’s slamming his fist against the brick wall of the building and screaming out in frustration. She finds herself frozen in place.

 

“Dammit dammit dammit  _ dammit dammit DAMMIT! _ ” He screams out and suddenly her feet are made of lead. She can hear a choked sob as he slams his fist to the wall again. “Stop it! Stop it already, stop it!” It’s clearly what she’d thought, of course it always was, but she has to find the courage to confront him.

 

She wants to say something. She wants to announce her presence, give him a chance to pull himself together. But when she opens her mouth, there are no words. She stands with her mouth agape, and his body is still racking with sobs. She knows if she doesn’t do something, he’ll break his hand because he’s hitting the wall again. So she does the only thing she can, the thing she’s done since she was a kid and couldn’t say what she wanted to without inciting a fight. She runs up to him and pulls him into a tight hug, pulling his shaking frame to her taller one. She feels him go stiff and she knows he’s going to pull away so she holds him tighter, closer. She’s here right now and this is the best she can do to prove that to him.

 

“Nngh, K-Kotoko…! Let me go, dammit! St-stop coddling me!” He shouts, pushing against her and squirming in her arms. She holds him tighter.

 

“Why didn’t you tell them? You didn’t have to put yourself through this.” Her voice is stern and a little harsher than she wanted. She couldn’t be gentle, she hoped Masaru could understand. “Jataro and Nagisa would understand, you didn’t have to do this for them.”

 

It takes a minute for him to respond. First he stops struggling against her, instead leaning back against her chest and breathing in her sugar scented perfume. His shoulders slump, his arms fall limply at his sides, and he breathes deeply for a few minutes before he finally says anything.

 

“I didn’t do it for them…” She is about to question him, even if she knows where this is going and what he means, when he continues. “I just wanted to prove to myself that I can do it… That I’m not scared anymore…” He mumbles and before letting out a cold chuckle. “I’m still scared of the scent of alcohol. All these years and nothing’s changed.” A frown pulls its way onto her glossed lips, and her arms tighten around him.

 

“Nagisa would tell you that this isn’t how to get better,” She says because she thinks it should be some comfort. He shakes his head.

 

“I don’t want to get better! I didn’t have a problem in the first place! Besides, I don’t care  _ what _ Nagisa thinks! He isn’t always right, ya’know!” He argues, and his voice holds the fire that she’s so used to hearing. She loves that fire, but it’s the reason he is where he is now. “I’m stronger than this! It’s just- It’s a smell! I’m not afraid of a damn smell!” He’s contradicting what he’d said and she knows that he’s trying to prove the matter to himself. She won’t argue with him, that’s what he does best. She won’t correct him or reassure him that triggers don’t work the way he wants to, that’s Nagisa’s job. She won’t blindly comfort him with distracting words, that’s Jataro’s job.

 

“We’re going home.” She’s best at doing what’s best for them, even if she’s being bossy. Someone has to look out for these dummies, and she has no desire to be gentle with them. She’ll do what’s best for them, even if they don’t want her to.

 

“ _ What _ ?! No! I’m fine, dammit! Let me go, let me handle this myself! I didn’t ask for you to come out here and tell me what to do!” And he’s back to struggling against her. This isn’t the first time he’s done this, so she’s prepared to hold him tighter.

 

“I said, we’re going home. If Nagisa and Jataro want to stay, they can find their own ride. I’m taking you home.” She’s sighing like she’s bored and she knows it’ll irritate him but she wants him to know that she won’t back down on her argument. She knows what’s best for him. This is what’s best.

 

“Kotoko, stop babying me! I can make my own decisions!”

 

“And you made the wrong one. Masaru, you aren’t even having fun! You’re gonna sit here and sulk, then everyone else is gonna start sulking because you’re sulking! If we go home, you and I can have fun! Nagisa and Jataro can stay here and have fun!” He stopped struggling to listen to what she has to say, and once she’s finished his good fist- the one that isn’t bruised and bloodied- grips her arm.

 

“But they’ll know why I left.” It’s a whisper, and he sounds more insecure than he has in a while. “They’ll know why I was out here and I’ll be different in their eyes. We have to stay.”

 

She shook her head and her long hair shook beside her. “No. You aren’t having fun anymore so we’re leaving. I’m not gonna listen to anymore arguments; Let’s go Masaru.”

 

“ _ No! _ ” And she sighs. She wants to prove to him that she is doing what’s best, but how can she when he won’t stop arguing her every step the way?

 

She’s thinking that at the moment, Masaru will only listen to actions. So she’ll work on silencing him. She places a soft kiss to his lips as soon as he opens his mouth, and he stiffens but there’s no more arguments. She pulls away after a moment and stares at him. His face is redder than his hair and she’d caught him off guard so he stayed silent. Next came moving him. So she begins dragging him over to the front of the building- they can’t go back in through the exit they came in. He only starts fighting her halfway through the walk, but by then he’s too late.

 

“I don’t want to go home,” He says finally, dragging his feet as they walk inside.

 

“Too bad. Your hand is probably broken, I’m gonna take you home so we can relax and fix that,” She said simply, and he slumps against her. She spots Nagisa and Jataro, who are now seeming to question their absence. Masaru seems to notice them too.

 

“Don’t tell them why we were outside. We’re saying I puked.” Once again, his speech is more of a mutter, but Kotoko will acknowledge it regardless. She gives a nod as they step in front of the booth.

 

Nagisa is the first to say something, sitting up straighter and placing his hands on the table a little more than forcefully. “Where were you two?! We thought something happened!”

 

She offers a casual smile that does little to placate the blue-haired male. “We went out for some air. I wasn’t feeling all that great.” She looks from Nagisa anxious stare to Jataro who simply nods. “I think I’m just gonna head home and sleep it off. Masaru offered to come with me, so we’ll be going.” Her statement left no room for argument, but she could tell Nagisa was still looking for one. She could feel his scrutinization on the both of them, and she knew he’d see Masaru’s fist. Nagisa wasn’t stupid, he would easily put together what had happened, why Masaru’s face was red, and why they were leaving. And when his eyes light up with the answer, he relaxes back in the booth. The satisfied smile that crosses her face is genuine.

 

“I see. Well, drive safe. Jataro and I will be home in a little while, alright?” He says and watches as Masaru relaxes. Kotoko doesn’t have to see it to feel the tension leave his posture.

 

“Well duh!” She says and rolls her eyes, smiling at him. She keeps it casual, she keeps her concern hidden. “Don’t do anything stupid either, okay? I’m not gonna bail you out if you do.” She says and Masaru leans against her, calming at the familiar conversations. She would be lying if she’d said it didn’t bother her how timid he became at such a simple smell. But she was an actress and she hid it well.

 

“We won’t,” He says to her and rolls his eyes back. She only grins. “Now get home before you get sick.” She wonders if he can also sense how strange Masaru acts in this atmosphere. She’s sure he can.

 

With a wave of her hand, they leave. Masaru continues to drag his feet as they leave the building and cross the parking lot, but she can feel the way he stands up straighter and no longer needs to lean into her for comfort. A small weight is lifted off her shoulders.

 

“You better not lie to me next time,” She says as she’s unlocking the car, and he climbs into the passenger’s seat.

 

“I didn’t lie!” He argues her, and she smiles. The flame is back in his voice, and even as he cradles his fist she can see the way he’s no longer feeling intimidated. She really does love that flame. 

  
“Yeah yeah, whatever,” She concedes because even if she wants to hear that fire, she doesn’t want him to be subject to that topic anymore. She begins to drive, so her eyes are on the road, but she can barely make out the way he smiles. She reaches for his hand, the gross and bloody one, and runs her fingers across it slowly. She doesn’t need him to say anything she knows he’s grateful to her. Of course he is, she knows what’s best for him.


End file.
